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===The End of Etruscan Veii===

By the late fifth century Rome’s influence and power in Italy had grown considerably, making another war with the Etruscan League inevitable. The Romans went straight to the source in 406 by attacking Veii, but its walls and defenses allowed the Etruscans of Veii to hold out for ten years. The situation was static until the Romans appointed Marcus Camillus as dictator. A keen military mind as well as a brave fighter, Camillus devised the idea of using sappers to dig under Veii’s walls.

“The men who had been employing themselves in this way were turned on to digging. Of the digging operations, by far the most important and laborious was the construction of a tunnel to lead up into the central fortress of the town; this work was now begun, and to keep it going without intermission the men engaged upon it were divided into six parties, working six hours each in rotation. . . From every direction and with overwhelming numbers Roman troops moved forward to the assault, to distract attention from the more imminent danger from the tunnel. . . In readiness for the decisive stroke the tunnel had been filled with picked men, and now, without warning, it discharged them into the temple of Juno on the citadel. The enemy, who were manning the walls against the threat from outside, were attacked from behind; bolts were wrenched off the gates; buildings were set on fire as women and slaves on the roof flung stones and tiles at the assailants. A fearful din arose: yells of triumph, shrieks of terror, wailing of women, and the pitiful crying of children; in an instant of time the defenders were flung from the walls and the town gates opened; Roman troops came pouring through, or climbed the now defenceless walls; everything was overrun, in every street the battle raged. After terrible slaughter resistance began to slacken, and Camillus gave the order to spare all who were not carrying arms.” <ref> Livy, Book V, 20-21</ref>

With Veii’s destruction complete, there was no other city capable of effectively leading the Etruscan League. The smaller Etruscan cities put up little resistance when the Romans made their final thrust into Etruria in 310 BC. <ref> Crawford, p. 482</ref> Veii was rebuilt and became part of the Roman Republic with a more Roman character, leaving the Etruscan people to linger in a sort of political limbo for nearly two centuries: their league was gone and they were under Roman rule, yet they had no status as Roman citizens. Finally, in 90 BC the people of Etruria were granted Roman citizenship, which officially ended the Etruscan-Roman conflict. <ref> Lorenzi, Rossella. “Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma.” <i>Archaeology</i> 63 (2010) p. 39</ref>